The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-01-12
Six Months of PrOhibitIop.

lit the results in individual instances of
attempted prohibition of the sale of in
toxicants are to be allowed any weight
in determining the question whether
Prohibition prohibits or not, those of the
first half year of Prohibition in Rhode
Island can hardly be counted on affir-
native side of the question. The Rhode
Island law went into effect on the first
Of July last and the Providence Jour
nal has compiled an interesting sum-
mary of the half wears results in the
city of Providence.
AT the time the new law went into
effect there were IA licensed places for
the sale of liquor within the CITY limits,
paying an annual revenue of $131 ,61S.
Like the traditional new broom that
always sweeps clean, the law practically
closed all these for a short time. For
several days after July | the bibulous
citizens of providence were compelled to
go thirsty, unless they had taken the
precautIou to- stock their own cellars in
advance with the beverages that both
cheer and inebrate. Gradually, how
ever, the dealers who at first went out
of business made up their minds to find
out whether the law was intended to be
enforced or not. One by one, at first the
holder and later the more tlmId of the
saloon-keepers, began to sell under a
very slight pretence of secrecy. At the
end of the year, POS of the 444 dealers
were back in the business again, with
out any disguise as TO what they were
doing, while enough of the former sa-
loon-keepers we're presiding over So
called "club rooms" 10 run the number
up to 404, or within forty of the number
engaged in the business under the Ii
cense law. In other words, n-elev-
enths of the liquor DEALERS of Providence
4
liquor without paying any license at all.
that these figures furnish no real test of
the general efficiency of the law. as they
Apply only to single city, giving no
idea of the result in the smaller towns
and country districts. Granting. how
ever. that the Rhode Island law is rea-
| sonably Well enforced outside of Provi-
dence, do not the results in that city in
dictate that the attempt to apply prohibit
| tory laws to country and city alike are
| a practical failure? They do not pro-
hibit in the cities and they do deprive
the municipalities of any revenue from
the sales they fail to prohibit. A high
license law with local option attach
ment would be just as prohibitory and
probably good deal more so in its effect.
and would leave the towns and cities
where liquor will be sold anyway to de-
| rive a goOdly sum from the licenses the
dealers could be compelled to pay. As
it is, in Rhode Island, as we'll as il. low a
and Kansas, the law fails to prohibit the
} sale of liquor in the cities and does pro-
hibIt the collection of licenses for its
sale. -Philddelphia Times.
Assistant District Attorney w. l..
Palmer and NJ. C. Rerdell, j. p, left on
Saturday morning for the Everglades,
for the purpose of finding out if there is
any foundation for the report that tine
Indians are preparing to make war on
the whites"
We find the above in the Orlando SEM
| t'heI, a paper published right at the
point where, if desired, it could very
readily have found out and published
: the truth. The Leader has spared no
efforts to ascertain the reason for the APP
poiutment of a committee to visit the
Indians, and the result of our efforis is
as follows: Judge Foster was In receipt
of letters from white men over on the
Atlantic coast, stating that certain other
white men had been stealing hogs from
the Indians, and asking that the matter
be Investigated and that justice DE done
the Indians. At the instance of Gov.
/ Perry, Judge Foster appointed A ssistant
/ District Attorney w. l.. Palmer to pro-
coed to the scene of the ALLEGED depreda-
| lions and collect evidence against those
white persons for stealing the Indians
hogs, in order to facilitate matters when
court convenes at Miami. Instead OF
preparing to make war" we are in
formed that the Indians have pulled w
their camps and moved farther into the
Everglades. SO as To save what hogs as
have not already been stolen from them.
The Indians are quiet and peaceable.
and have too much sense to desire 10 take
the warpatb. as they are less than 25C
strong all told, and not over IS or so OF
these are braves. That committee was
appointed to protect the Indians in their
/ property, instead of protecting white
men from Indians on the warpath-
kiSstmMee Leader